November – Thankful!

That time of the year where we stop and take a minute to be thankful for what nourishes us as well as who is here to share the experience of life and to be thankful for what inspires our connections. The biggest gesture of gratitude for me this year is to be thankful for the unexplainable.

Sometimes there’s no traceable reason to why interactions between shape and form, people and people, people and animal, action and timing, or light and shadow have been created. The unexplainable is the fuel for my creativity. It’s the questions that keep me as an artist continually looking at images, ideas, visions and stories through a new lens. I often find myself lost in articles researching techniques, styles, images, language, practices, belief systems that all help in defining my purpose as a human and support my style as an artist. Within this time of discovery the unknown sometimes becomes explainable and sometimes stays a mystery. This mystery is the engine of living and propels me to keep going.

I find this time of year brings an influx of new ideas from clients. I’m not sure if it’s to commemorate the years end or people feeling the season of transformation or is it an overall feel of magic in the air. Each day is a surprise in the studio, even when I think I know what is on the schedule. There is always a level of unknown to the day. Each canvas reacts slightly different to pigments, composition and to the physical sensation. This space of the unknown is what allows room for the mystery to develop and change not only the perspective of the client but the perspective of an artist is shifted by the knowledge that is gained from the actual tactile tattoo experience, to the stories shared from the present moment and carried from the ancient history of the tattoo culture

Today and everyday be thankful for what we have now, what came before us and what is to come because really it’s all indescribable magic!